The leading ladies of Hollywood may have been dressed in black, but their beauty was prismatic. Playful shades, shimmer, ruby lips and metallic lids were the preferred accessories to the prevalent noir evening gowns.

Celebrity makeup artists seemed to agree: if the dresses were a blank canvas as to color, then the makeup should single out the individuality of the star. Susan Sarandon, for instance, wore a crimson lip with her curly pompadour pony. Laura Dern’s shell-like skin sparkled just so with an equally glittery dress. We spoke with the two artists who helped to prep these legendary ladies using Charlotte Tilbury products. Here’s what they did.

“For me, the perfect red carpet look starts with gorgeous, radiant skin. Laura was fresh off the beach from Hawaii, so I wanted to accentuate the Golden Goddess look that she already had going on!” —Gita Bass

The Hollywood Flawless Filter (launching March 2018) was then applied all over the face to create a flawless and instantly lit-from-within glow, followed by Cheek to Chic Blush in Love Glow on the apples of the cheeks to add a bit of warmth.